SolarCity Corp (SCTY) In Major Expansion Drive

SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) announced the opening of ten new operation centers in California, nearly doubling its presence in the state.

All ten new operations centers in California are expected to be operational by the end of 2013.

Expansion to enhance efficiency and customer service

With the new expansion, the leading provider of clean energy will have a location within 30 miles of more than 90% of California’s population. SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) already has over 2,100 employees in California and is currently seeking to fill at least 260 additional job openings in the Golden State.

SolarCity Corp is enjoying rapid growth as the company is expanding rapidly. SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) has $500 million in nominal contract payments in 2011; that increased to a little over $1 billion in 2012. The company is poised to top $1.7 billion in total contract payments in 2012.

SolarCity’s expansion is touted as both an efficiency and customer-service measure as the company gears to meet its increasing demand, despite dwindling state and local incentives for solar energy. SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) strives to keep the cost of a solar energy system under what homeowners would otherwise pay to buy electricity from the local utility.

SolarCity’s executive vice present Tanguy Serra highlighted with a SolarCity crew only spending half an hour in a truck and the rest of the day installing, the company’s labor costs are coming down.

SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY)’s stock is up 291% this year, though its stock price has come down 29% from its all-time high of $65.30 on November 4.

SolarCity’s expansion to reduce environmental impact

In its statement, the company indicated this expansion not only allows it to spread job creation and economic impact to more local economies, but it also allows the company to reduce its costs and environmental impact by decreasing drive times and increasing installation efficiency. Tanguy Serra indicated the fact that the expansion is happening in California’s largest state incentive program is winding down is a key indicator of how far solar power has come toward the mainstream.

Earlier, founder of Broadscale Group Andrew Shapiro highlighted how small clean energy companies can succeed through gainful collaboration with large corporations. He complimented SolarCity Corp Chairman Elon Musk for his win-win collaboration model whereby large corporations could able to tap into the smaller companies’ innovative talents.